Question about slowdown of the speed of light in solid medium

I have read the sticky topic (FAQ of Physics Forums), concretely the topic https://www.physicsforums.com/showpost.php?p=899393&postcount=4" [Broken] five or six time, and I would ask you about this part:

So the lattice does not absorb this photon and it is re-emitted but with a very slight delay. This, naively, is the origin of the apparent slowdown of the light speed in the material. The emitted photon may encounter other lattice ions as it makes its way through the material and this accumulate the delay.

I have read the sticky topic (FAQ of Physics Forums), concretely the topic https://www.physicsforums.com/showpost.php?p=899393&postcount=4" [Broken] five or six time, and I would ask you about this part:

How it is re-emitted, when it is not first absorbed?

Yes, this can be slightly confusing if not understood well; it means that the atoms don't make a transition between different energy levels but that they simply "resonate" according to the em radiation hitting on them and then they re-emits the same em wave (but with a slight delay). Think of a sort of "reflection" of a light beam on a mirror: if the reflection is perfect, the mirror doesn't absorb any energy from the beam, even if the em wave do interact with the mirror's atoms.
"Absorbed" in that contest means exactly this, that is, "energy is not absorbed from the em wave"; it doesn't mean that "there is no interaction"; so "re-emitted" about photons in this case means that they do interact but without energy absorption.

Yes, this can be slightly confusing if not understood well; it means that the atoms don't make a transition between different energy levels but that they simply "resonate" according to the em radiation hitting on them and then they re-emits the same em wave (but with a slight delay). Think of a sort of "reflection" of a light beam on a mirror: if the reflection is perfect, the mirror doesn't absorb any energy from the beam, even if the em wave do interact with the mirror's atoms.
"Absorbed" in that contest means exactly this, that is, "energy is not absorbed from the em wave"; it doesn't mean that "there is no interaction".

It was absorbed and released, so why they don't support the theory of electron transitions? Exactly that happens, are they want to say that there is chain reaction (there must be more than 1 atom) to be refraction successful?

It was absorbed and released, so why they don't support the theory of electron transitions? Exactly that happens, are they want to say that there is chain reaction (there must be more than 1 atom) to be refraction successful?

I made the example of reflection, I hoped to be explicative. You could think of sun's light scattering by the air: light interacts with the air's molecules and atoms, but it's not absorbed (its energy is not enough to make them do energy transitions). The prove that it really interacts with air is the blue colour of the sky.

I made the example of reflection, I hoped to be explicative. You could think of sun's light scattering by the air: light interacts with the air's molecules and atoms, but it's not absorbed (its energy is not enough to make them do energy transitions). The prove that it really interacts with air is the blue colour of the sky.

So if it is not enough to make them do energy transitions, how the light interacts with them?
Can the light just pass through them? But where is the time delay then?

"So the lattice does not absorb this photon and it is re-emitted but with a very slight delay. This, naively, is the origin of the apparent slowdown of the light speed in the material. The emitted photon may encounter other lattice ions as it makes its way through the material and this accumulate the delay."

That explanation is not correct. The wave length of light is about 1000 times the distance between molecules, so a single photon interacts with thousands of molecules at the same time. It does not get absorbed and re-emitted by individual molecules. The treatment in most textbooks, showing the increase in permittivity due to macroscopic polarization, is correct.

"So the lattice does not absorb this photon and it is re-emitted but with a very slight delay. This, naively, is the origin of the apparent slowdown of the light speed in the material. The emitted photon may encounter other lattice ions as it makes its way through the material and this accumulate the delay."

That explanation is not correct. The wave length of light is about 1000 times the distance between molecules, so a single photon interacts with thousands of molecules at the same time. It does not get absorbed and re-emitted by individual molecules. The treatment in most textbooks, showing the increase in permittivity due to macroscopic polarization, is correct.

The explanation being given, as stated, is the most naive scenario. If you look at the FAQ, there is a clear mention of the phonon modes, which, by defintion, is a collective phenomenon. That is what is meant by "lattice ions". It isn't about individual molecules or atoms.

"So the lattice does not absorb this photon and it is re-emitted but with a very slight delay. This, naively, is the origin of the apparent slowdown of the light speed in the material. The emitted photon may encounter other lattice ions as it makes its way through the material and this accumulate the delay."

That explanation is not correct. The wave length of light is about 1000 times the distance between molecules, so a single photon interacts with thousands of molecules at the same time. It does not get absorbed and re-emitted by individual molecules. The treatment in most textbooks, showing the increase in permittivity due to macroscopic polarization, is correct.

If the electrons absorb the energy of any portion of the visible spectrum, the light that transmits through will appeared colored according to the portion of the spectrum absorbed. In fact, the color of any object is a direct result of what levels of energy the electrons in the substance will absorb!
So what actually happens here?

Just from my own point of view not understanding this myself, it may more successfully encourage people to answer you if you ask questions that demonstrate that you're making a serious attempt to understand what phonons are and how they fit into this topic.

(Or, it might just be something that can't be boiled down to as simple a form as you want it to be.)

The light wave penetrates deeply into the material, and causes small vibrations in the electrons. The electrons pass these vibrations on to the atoms in the material, and they send out light waves of the same frequency as the incoming wave. But this all takes time. The part of the wave inside the material slows down, while the part of the wave outside the object maintains its original frequency.

Most of the time, it is a combination of the above that happens to the light that hits an object. The electrons in different materials vary in the range of energy that they can absorb. A lot of glass, for example, blocks out ultraviolet (UV) light. What happens is the electrons in the glass absorb the energy of the photons in the UV range while ignoring the weaker energy of photons in the visible light spectrum. If the electrons absorb the energy of any portion of the visible spectrum, the light that transmits through will appeared colored according to the portion of the spectrum absorbed. In fact, the color of any object is a direct result of what levels of energy the electrons in the substance will absorb!

The atoms in some materials hold on to their electrons loosely. In other words, the materials contain many free electrons that can jump readily from one atom to another within the material. When the electrons in this type of material absorb energy from an incoming light wave, they do not pass that energy on to other atoms. The energized electrons merely vibrate and then send the energy back out of the object as a light wave with the same frequency as the incoming wave. The overall effect is that the light wave does not penetrate deeply into the material.

Most of the time, it is a combination of the above that happens to the light that hits an object. The electrons in different materials vary in the range of energy that they can absorb. A lot of glass, for example, blocks out ultraviolet (UV) light. What happens is the electrons in the glass absorb the energy of the photons in the UV range while ignoring the weaker energy of photons in the visible light spectrum. If the electrons absorb the energy of any portion of the visible spectrum, the light that transmits through will appeared colored according to the portion of the spectrum absorbed. In fact, the color of any object is a direct result of what levels of energy the electrons in the substance will absorb!

The atoms in some materials hold on to their electrons loosely. In other words, the materials contain many free electrons that can jump readily from one atom to another within the material. When the electrons in this type of material absorb energy from an incoming light wave, they do not pass that energy on to other atoms. The energized electrons merely vibrate and then send the energy back out of the object as a light wave with the same frequency as the incoming wave. The overall effect is that the light wave does not penetrate deeply into the material.

So what is actually correct!?!?

The first refers to transparent materials (like glass), the second to conductors (like metals).

Probably it's thinking about photons that confuses you, so you could prefer not to think about photons at all, since Maxwell's equations are enough to treat the phenomenon. The light's velocity we are talking here is what it's called "phase velocity" of a wave. When an em wave interacts with atoms without being absorbed, the atom or the atoms collectively (as in the case of glass) oscillate in response of that wave, so generating another, second, wave which is not in phase with the first one, but with a slight phase delay; this then will make the near subsequent atoms oscillate which then will emit another, third wave, with a slight phase delay with respect to the second and so you have a phase delay proportional to the light path inside the material. Now remember that we are talking about "phase velocity" and you understand (I hope! ) why light's speed is slowed down inside the glass.
A link about waves animations:
http://www.kettering.edu/~drussell/demos.html [Broken]